Would one have to say new york or cali? or was there another?
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new jersey had the most... all the boardwalks
steve w, i'm originally from that area(asbury park) .correct me if i'm wrong but i remember mini golf coarses on top of the aracdes. i have a pic of me in one particular arcade. it's tuff to see but you could make out a game or two.circa 1975
You just described the early 80's all across the county, not just Cali.BITD in Cali EVERY store seemed to have video games...
There were 3 liquor stores within walking distance to me. Each had at least 4 games...
Ace Hardware... 3 or 4 games and usually a pin or two!
Yum-Yum Donuts... a cocktail Ms. Pac and a Turbo.
Alpha Beta supermarket... Asteroids Deluxe and Pole Position.
The local pizza dives all had games...
Hell, the Chevron down the street and the Mobil gas across the street both had video games (Chevron had 3 or 4 Mobil had 2).
Dennys restaurant... 2 or 3...
I was also within driving distance of James Games, the Family Fun Center (both STILL OPEN actually!), Time-Out in the Mall, then there was the race track across the street from Family Fun Center that had a nice size arcade and of course the 7-11 between the two had 2 or 3 games.
The UA6 Theater I worked at had 8 games...
The YARN BARN has a freakin' Centipede.
Video games were just about EVERYWHERE...
EDIT: Almost forgot Roller City... the skating rink had at least a dozen games... nothing quite like mastering VS Excitebike on skates.
I was at Wild Rivers in Irvine CA one time in 91 (happened to be the same day the 1st Lollapalooza was going on at the amphitheater that day-heard great music all day-it was very loud) and they had about 10 games OUTSIDE. But back in 88-91, I must have gone to at least 50 arcades that I frequented (not including the few arcades at Disneyland with 10+ Trons lined up and a few R360's, gas stations, liquor stores, grocery stores, theaters) in the LA/OC areas. Many mall locations, family fun centers, stand alones, it was great time to be a gamer with some coin.I'd definitely vote California...even though I'm from NY. And I daresay that the current "survival" rate all has to do with weather. The warmer the climate, the better the chance that these babies survived in storage (and at outdoor locations). Additionally, they don't have the rain and humidity that the Southeast has/had to contend with. I'd also venture that you'd have more private owners due to the $$ in the state and the younger/flashier culture that would lend itself to a larger number of games in the home.
You just described the early 80's all across the county, not just Cali.
Scott C.